Generators pay to stay on as dominant rooftop solar 'cannibalises' electricity prices
www.abc.net.au
The rise of rooftop solar in Australia shows no signs of slowing, bringing cheap, clean power. But the technology is also reshaping the power system in some surprising ways.
  • Wholesale power prices are increasingly turning negative at times of high solar output
  • Observers say rooftop solar is “cannibalising” electricity prices and hitting large-scale solar hard
  • There are calls for storage and greater daytime demand to help soak up solar production
  • stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net
    43·
    1 year ago

    Here in California, utility companies are “solving” this by instituting extremely high fees for the privilege of connecting your solar power to the grid. If I recall from the last time I ran the numbers, rooftop solar panels no longer make economic sense for the vast majority of residential customers - it costs more money to install me solar panels and pay the monthly connection fees then you’ll save by producing energy over the lifetime of the solar panels.

    Probably the one time in history PG&E tried to fix a problem ahead of time. 😆

        • nottheengineer@feddit.de
          3·
          1 year ago

          Yes, but you don’t necessarily need batteries. If you just have a bit of solar, you’ll use up all the power it produces as it does that.

      • stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net
        51·
        1 year ago

        Sure! As far as I know, county and city ordinances permitting, you can be off grid in CA.

        However, if you’re on grid, and you connect your solar panels to your home electric system, your solar power is now connected to the grid. I don’t think you can segregate electricity by source. You could in theory have some of your home powered by your solar and some of your home powered by the grid, separate systems that don’t connect, but I think that would be both dangerous and illegal. Maybe you could have an ADU that’s totally solar powered while your house is on grid?

        And googling today - it’s been a while - it looks like CA regulators withdrew their shitty fee schedule and approved a slightly less shitty fee schedule, so good news there 😆

        • nottheengineer@feddit.de
          6·
          1 year ago

          There are solar inverters that will just take some load off the grid, but never put power into it for this use case. It’s technically connected to the grid but for the grid, there are no downsides or risks.

          If the fee also applies to that, it’s just straight up stupid.

    • AEMarling@slrpnk.net
      3·
      1 year ago

      They are at it again, trying to block solar on churches and schools. Tell Gavin Newsom to get his CPUC in line.

      • jballs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        51·
        1 year ago

        In Colorado, it’s actually illegal to disconnect from the grid once you’re on the grid. Yay capitalism!